Hims & Hers Health

What happened. On Wednesday 22 October 2026, Hims and Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) filed a motion in the US District Court for the Northern District of California seeking to dismiss all nine counts of the Federal Trade Commission's 29 July 2026 complaint (filed jointly with Utah and Los Angeles County). The nine counts cover subscription billing conduct, cancellation friction, and sharing of health data with advertising platforms. Judge Vince Chhabria set the dismissal motion hearing for 7 January 2027. Sources: Bloomberg court filing summary; MLex court filing summary; Quiver 22 October coverage; California Northern District case docket.

Hims's four lines of defense. First, privacy: users confirmed the privacy policy at sign up, and that policy explicitly stated that personal information including sensitive information may be shared with marketing and advertising partners. Second, subscription law: historical fixed term contracts with instalment payments do not fall within the federal statutory definition of automatically renewing subscriptions. Third, disclosure: the checkout page stated periodic prescription fees (such as USD 147 every 90 days). Fourth, cancellation: cancellation was always available by phone, email and chat, with a full online cancellation path opening in April 2023. The company also argues the regulator has not established the basis for its proposed fine and injunction.

Why this is noteworthy. In Q2 2026, Hims recognised about USD 62.5 million in provisions related to the FTC matter. The company nevertheless chose a full public contest rather than a settlement. For a litigant that has already provisioned at that scale, choosing a motion to dismiss on all counts signals either strong confidence in winning on the merits or a view that the remedy on offer (particularly the injunction's scope) is unacceptable. The investor read is: if the FTC's primary remedy would restrict Hims's use of health data for advertising targeting, the customer acquisition cost hit is more consequential than the fine itself.

What this video does not claim. That Hims wins the motion: motion to dismiss standards are high, and the FTC has in GoodRx and BetterHelp successfully argued that general consent clauses in privacy policies do not cover health data sharing with advertising platforms. That the FTC risk goes away: the hearing is in January 2027, and the FTC uncertainty will span at least Q3 (reports 9 November) and Q4 earnings. The securities class action (lead plaintiff deadline 2 November 2026) is a parallel exposure not addressed by this motion.

Our wording, flagged. Sixty million dollars rounds Q2 2026 provisions of about USD 62.5 million. All nine federal charges refers to the nine counts in the FTC complaint. Settle refers to a negotiated consent order with the FTC rather than contested litigation. Would rather test the law than fold is our plain English for electing a motion to dismiss on all counts rather than settlement.

Sources: Bloomberg court filing summary, 22 October 2026; MLex court filing summary, 22 October 2026; Quiver report, 22 October 2026; US District Court for the Northern District of California docket; Stray Dog daily brief, 23 October 2026.

What happened. On Tuesday 21 October 2026, Hims and Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) announced via Business Wire the largest expansion of its men's health franchise to date: three testosterone replacement therapy options added on top of its existing Testosterone Rx+ (enclomiphene, launched 2 May 2026, which stimulates endogenous production). The three new products directly supplement testosterone: a generic testosterone cypionate intramuscular injection taken once a week; a compounded subcutaneous testosterone injection taken twice a week; and an FDA approved oral option, Kyzatrex, taken daily. Sources: Hims newsroom release, FinancialContent, Stocktitan, Rallies.ai. Prior exclusive collaboration with Marius Pharmaceuticals on Kyzatrex was first disclosed in September 2025.

Why it matters. WIRED reported on 21 October that this is Hims's first controlled substance prescription offering. Testosterone has been a US controlled substance under the 1990 Anabolic Steroid Control Act. That classification requires an upfront physician video consultation and ongoing clinical monitoring, including periodic blood draws for total testosterone, free testosterone and related markers. Testosterone cannot be sold off a self reported questionnaire, which is how a large share of US telehealth prescriptions (including some GLP 1 and ED categories) are typically dispensed by smaller operators.

The company says its diagnostic funnel for TRT uses the FDA cleared Tasso at home blood collection device, combined with a HIMS lab panel of 22 biomarkers (total testosterone, free testosterone, lipids, glucose, and others) read by a licensed physician. Hims said at Q2 that testosterone is the fastest growing specialty outside weight loss, launched only three quarters ago; no revenue or user numbers for the TRT line specifically have been disclosed.

Moat vs cost. The controlled substance gating is both a moat and a cost. Moat: small telehealth brands without the lab, the licensed physician workflow and the compliance machinery cannot easily enter. Cost: higher per customer physician consult expense, a larger compliance surface area, and tighter dispensing controls. The release does not disclose state coverage (only not available in all states) or pricing. The compounded subcutaneous injection is not FDA approved and sits in the same regulatory risk bucket as compounded weight loss formulations, during an active FTC privacy complaint and securities class actions (lead plaintiff deadline 2 November, case originally filed 3 September). TRT also causes infertility and demands rigorous screening, so one brand level medical adverse event is a nontrivial risk.

Verification point. HIMS Q3 earnings land on Monday 9 November 2026. The investor read: watch for standalone testosterone or hormone subscriber disclosure, and whether multi product subscription share rises. SEC EDGAR shows no new company filings for Hims this week, with the latest Form 8 K still being the 7 October Chief Accounting Officer change.

Our wording, flagged. Nineteen ninety in the video refers to the 1990 Anabolic Steroid Control Act, which added testosterone to the US controlled substance list. A doctor has to be on video first is a plain English statement of the required physician consultation. A blood draw every few months after describes the clinical monitoring regime at a general level, not a Hims specific protocol. Users stay on it for life refers to the clinical reality that discontinuation of exogenous testosterone usually requires continued monitoring and often continued prescribing; this is a clinical pattern, not a company retention claim. Twenty two biomarkers refers to the HIMS lab panel named in the release.

Sources: Hims and Hers 21 October 2026 Business Wire release; WIRED 21 October 2026 reporting; FinancialContent 21 October 2026; Stocktitan 21 October 2026; Rallies.ai 21 October 2026; SEC EDGAR filings list (checked 22 October 2026); Stray Dog daily brief, 22 October 2026.

Hims officially launched in Germany on 20 October via forhims.de, starting with men's weight management. Online consultations, prescriptions decided by EU licensed physicians, with in person needs referred to the patient's own doctor. German statutory insurance generally does not reimburse weight loss drugs, so patients already pay out of pocket, a structural fit for Hims's cash pay subscription model. The launch rides on the 2025 Zava acquisition, which already operated in Germany, so Hims is grafting its brand and acquisition engine onto an existing compliance and physician network. No GLP 1 supplier or German pricing disclosed in the release; a Novo Nordisk partnership is rumored but unverified by the company. Branded drug reselling in Europe cannot replicate US compounded drug economics, which may dilute the Q2 gross margin of 64%. Watch Q3 earnings on 9 November for international revenue mix and management commentary on German CAC. Sources: Hims newsroom (20 October), Reuters (20 October).

What happened. On Thursday 15 October 2026, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA sent an interim access policy for compounding using certain peptides to the White House budget office for review, according to a filing on the Office of Management and Budget website. The filing gives no details and names no peptides. The Associated Press, citing two people familiar with the plan, reported that it is meant to let compounding pharmacies temporarily make some of the most popular peptides, including BPC 157, by assuring them they will not be targeted, an approach called enforcement discretion. The FDA had placed BPC 157 and more than a dozen other injectable peptides on its list of substances too risky to be compounded by pharmacies, citing possible contamination, allergic reactions and tumor growth. In July, FDA advisers recommended dropping restrictions on six of the seven peptides put before them: BPC 157, TB 500, KPV, MOTS c, epitalon and Semax. FDA staff scientists had concluded that none had been studied enough to establish safety and effectiveness. Reuters reports that BPC 157 use is soaring without FDA approval.

What it means for Hims and Hers. On its second quarter call on Monday 10 August, chief executive Andrew Dudum said the company had started stability and validation testing at its Menlo Park facility on the raw ingredients for the six peptides the advisers backed, starting with BPC 157, and that it has committed to manufacturing those raw ingredients in the US. He said that if and when the FDA moves these peptides onto the list pharmacies may compound from while the FDA reviews them, the company can move extremely quickly. He also said the company's operating model is to wait for full and final FDA rulemaking before bringing them to market. Before the end of 2026, the company plans to offer peptides that are already allowed, such as sermorelin, glutathione and NAD+. Hims and Hers did not immediately respond to Reuters on Thursday.

What this is not. It is a submission for review, not an approval, and it has no start date. Enforcement discretion is temporary and can be withdrawn. It is not the formal rulemaking that would add these peptides to the FDA's compounding list, which could take months or years, and the AP reported it was not clear whether the administration still plans that rulemaking. None of these peptides is FDA approved, and most of the data on them comes from animal studies. Hims and Hers has not said whether it would sell them under an interim policy. Canaccord's estimate, as reported in June and July, is that the compounded peptide market excluding GLP 1 drugs could reach about 20 billion dollars within three to five years; other published estimates are far lower. The core question for owners has not changed: in the second quarter revenue grew 38 percent, gross margin fell to 64 percent and the company lost 86.3 million dollars.

Numbers in this video. The video has no numbers; one fifty seven is part of a peptide's name. No number in this video is our own arithmetic.

Timing. Hims and Hers reports third quarter results after the US market closes on Monday 9 November.

Sources: Reuters and the Associated Press, 15 October 2026, on the OMB filing. Hims and Hers second quarter 2026 earnings call, 10 August 2026. Hims and Hers second quarter 2026 results, filed with the SEC. Stray Dog daily brief, 16 October 2026.

What happened. This week Hims and Hers launched its women's brand, Hers, in Australia. The release went out on Monday 12 October in New York, which was Tuesday 13 October in Sydney. In Australia, Hers replaces Juniper, the women's health brand that has served patients there since 2021. Current Juniper patients keep the same care team and Australian practitioners. Hers in Australia covers hair regrowth, menopause and perimenopause, and weight management. Hair regrowth is the new category: the release says Hers is introducing new hair regrowth treatments, while Juniper already offered weight management and menopause care. The change covers Australia only. The release does not cover Juniper anywhere else. In August the company moved its Australian men's brand, Pilot, to the Hims name, so both of its brands now run in Australia. Dr Matt Vickers, Chief Medical Officer of Hims and Hers Australia, said women need care grounded in real evidence.

The deal. Hims and Hers bought Eucalyptus, the company behind Juniper and Pilot, earlier this year, in a deal valued at up to 1.15 billion US dollars. Part of that is paid later and part depends on financial targets, so 1.15 billion is the ceiling of the deal, not the amount paid so far.

The money question. In the second quarter of 2026, Hims and Hers grew revenue 38 percent from a year earlier, its gross margin fell to 64 percent, and it lost 86.3 million dollars. By the end of June it had set aside 62.5 million dollars for legal matters. Third quarter results come on Monday 9 November, after the US market closes. That quarter ended in September, before this launch, so it will not show Hers in Australia.

What this is not. A new name and a new treatment do not change the profit on each patient by themselves. No revenue for Hers in Australia has been reported. Whether it adds to sales shows up in later reports.

Numbers in this video. Eighty six million is the reported 86.3 million, rounded down. Thirty eight percent and up to 1.15 billion are as reported. No number in this video is our own arithmetic.

Sources: Hims and Hers releases on Business Wire: Hers launches in Australia (12 October 2026), third quarter 2026 results date (12 October 2026), Hims in Australia (August 2026), Eucalyptus acquisition completed (June 2026), agreement to acquire Eucalyptus (February 2026). Hims and Hers second quarter 2026 results and quarterly report, filed with the SEC. Stray Dog daily brief, 13 October 2026.

On 24 September 2026 Hims & Hers announced that its AI native clinical operating system, previously running only in Labs AI and the Hers ecosystem, is now live for Hims weight loss members. The company describes it as a closed loop action engine that replaces the traditional asynchronous text and photo consult.